


Heart of Blood

by rinhail



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: Amputation, Blood, Brutality, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Cruelty, Decapitation, Different religions, Fantasy, Gen, Headcanon, Lots of Angst, Magic, Mild Language, Original Character Death(s), Persons from different countries, Violence, badass female characters, but religion won't play a major part, characters with no mercy, persons of color, sensuality between males
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-11
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-03-22 07:02:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3719566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rinhail/pseuds/rinhail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The kids are more than they seem and Raizel is about to learn the hard way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please bear with me as this is a heavy work in progress.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own this series or characters and am making no profit from this work of fiction.

**1**.

Shinwoo drifts in the zone of being almost asleep, but still aware of your surroundings. He's aware of the chalk scratching the board, pencils scraping against notebooks, Ik-han punching away on his laptop, and the familiar aura of a long ago ally.  
  
He opens his eyes and sits up straight in his chair. He looks outside the window and up into the sky and sighs. He doesn't need this to happen now. It isn't time to reveal all his secrets. More importantly, Shinwoo doesn't want to explain to Raizel that everything since they befriended on another has been a lie.  
  
Taking a casual glance behind him at the boy, Shinwoo feels worry, anxiety, but mostly sadness pool in his heart. He hasn't felt this kind of depression since he parted ways with his old life.  
  
He gets up, and the loud moan of his chair against the floor immediately draws attention from several students, but he pays little heed to their curious expressions and begins walking towards the door.  
  
"Shinwoo...?" Ik-han asks him, as he passes by his friend's desk. He outright ignores him - Ik-han will soon feel the presence of another, and there won't be time for questions.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?" Shinwoo has his hand on the door when the teacher ask.  
  
He stands there, afraid if he opens the door he won't be able to return to this quiet existence he's built for himself. But that presence outside isn't going to go away unless he forces it to. He has no choice but to move forward.  
  
"Sorry, teach. Do me a favor and stay here. Nobody leaves this room." Shinwoo says without turning around. He then opens the door walks out, and with a firm snap the door is closed.  
  


**2**.

When the door shuts, Ik-han quickly gets up and away from his desk, walks over to the window and peers down and immediately cringes.  
  
He ignores the murmurs of the other students until he hears Yuna's name being reprimanded by the teacher. He turns his head back to see deja vu happening.  
  
"I can't explain, but please do as Shinwoo tells you to and stay here." She pleads. She looks at him, and he nods his head. Then like Shinwoo she leaves the room, closing the door just as loudly.  
  
Ik-han turns back towards the window. "Ik-han, what is going on?" He regards Regis sidelong and wonders offhandedly if this will be the last time they speak to one another. After all, Ik-han senses five of them lurking around the perimeter of the school, but thankfully, and so far, only one has breached the premises.  
  
"Now isn't the time to explain in full, but know that Shinwoo will protect you." He doesn't want to give anything away, it should be Shinwoo's job to explain, but Regis can't help but appear confused when he follows Ik-han's gaze, and it rests on Raizel.  
  
All at once and before Ik-han is bombarded with questions from Regis, the door to the classroom opens fiercely.

 

 **3**.

Yuna stands outside the door of the classroom and looks to her left then right, then left. She contemplates which way would bring her faster to Shinwoo's side. She would likely run into teachers if she takes the right path - often the gym teacher and a couple lunch staffers converse down that way - so she turns left and quickly hurries after Shinwoo.  
  
As she runs down the stairs, she suddenly has the worst sinking feeling in her gut. When she observed Shinwoo abruptly getting up earlier, she saw the terror fringed by sadness written on his face, and it nearly stopped her heart.  
  
But now she was so angry she wanted to spit. They had been so careful to hide themselves for so long, and now the first piece of the puzzle was coming unglued.  
  
Yuna steps off the last set of stairs and rounds the corner to find herself at the entrance to the school. She scans the area but doesn't see Shinwoo anywhere, but the feeling of another stops her search cold. No, she feels two foreign energies pulsating inside her sanctuary. However, one is much closer to her than the other.  
  
She stands with her shoulders straight and turns her head to the left and witnesses a form emerging from the shadowy hallway.

 

 **4**.

Suyi wrenches the door to her friends' classroom open and scans for Ik-han. She finds him standing near the windows, looking rather withdrawn.  
  
"Ik-han is it..." She stops, suddenly aware there are twenty-five sets of eyes looking at her. Half of them read distress, some curiosity, and some even illuminate with excitement.  
  
"Suyi, you scared everyone half to death opening the door that way." She knows Ik-han's trying to make light of the situation, he's trying to calm all the nerves swirling in the room, but Suyi hears his heart dying.  
  
"I'm heading to the roof." She declares, turning around and leaving the classroom as her two friends before her. There isn't any point in staying by Ik-han's side, he's had a long time to prepare himself for what's coming, so she leaves him confidently.  
  
Unlike Yuna, Suyi takes off down the right side of the long hallway as fast as her legs can take her. Sure enough, after she rounds one corner she passes a couple of teachers talking amongst themselves. She races by them, ignoring their calls for her to get back to class, and starts climbing the stairs to the roof.  
  
The roof is only a floor above her, so she tackles two sets of stairs fairly quickly and burst through the heavy door leading to the roof.  
  
She lets out a breath to calm the adrenaline pumping through her veins and saunters over to the edge. Her heart sinks at the sight of Shinwoo standing opposite a figure from her past she has loathed passionately.  
  
She bares her teeth and considers attacking the intruder from afar. She feels her long dormant nature rise to the surface in an almost gleeful way, but before she can erupt, a calm sensation caresses her power, and she composes herself rightly.  
  
'Shinwoo can take care of himself.' She thinks.  
  
The sound of shoes hitting cement alerts Suyi she has company. Not unexpected, these people usually come in packs. She smirks and turns her body to greet her opponent.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italic means a characters thoughts.
> 
> I neglected to read the first chapter (like a total bone-head) so I forgot what happened. Nothing major has changed, just a minor tweak here and there.

Suyi did not like what she was seeing. 

A figure, exactly her height and size striding across campus, ready for war. And behind her, perched on top of one of the stone columns at the entrance, an unknown variable. She couldn't place the tattoos spread across his chest, and he had his head ducked down, so he was even more dangerous in his anonymity. 

Suyi turns her gaze away from the man and decides instead to focus on what she's familiar with—which is the female who's stopped yards away from the building. On closer inspection, Suyi sees the girl isn't as tall as her and is only wearing platforms to appear that way. Her small hands lay flat against her side, and it makes her seem unhazardous as if she's merely standing at a student assembly. But the razor-sharp look she pins Shinwoo tells an entirely different tale. 

"Great," Suyi releases a drawn-out sigh. Her nerves only match her irritation. And not just because **they've** found them and now their lives will be exposed. No, the squirming in her belly comes from the fear of failure. She hasn't (none of them have) used their skills in many years. What if she can't conjure that energy as quickly as she did in the past? What will happen to them? What will become of Raizel? 

Suyi studies her hand, balling it, then spreading the fingers out. A determined look settles on her face. "Guess there's only one way to find out." 

She steps back from the ledge so the pair down below can't see her. They'll detect her energy—that she has no doubt of—but she trust Shinwoo will head the female off. The mysterious man? He hasn't moved an inch from his crouched position and Suyi supposes he won't. He seems to be the observant type. She'll keep watch over him all the same, but for now, her top priority is making sure the students of Ye Ran don't get caught up in their mess. 

Straightening her back and shoulders, she stretches her arms out in front of herself and cups her hands together. She breathes in deeply through her nose and exhales slowly out her mouth, closes her eyes, and dives inside her mind. It's like a labyrinth of forgotten dreams, terrible nightmares, blood moons, and evening confessions. Before long she stands in front of a tall curved white door covered in heavy chains. She presses one hand against the middle of the door, and it hums back. She clasps one chain and yanks—and in an instant the chains disappear, and the door opens on its rusty hinges. 

A black void greets her, and she reaches a hand inside and feels the first electric shock of her power. It's been so long since she felt her energy her breath becomes labored with excitement. The thrill of her power caressing her in welcome sends her heart jackrabbiting against her chest. She grins and scoops the energy into her hands. It swirls there, swimming slowly and comfortable like a relaxed fish. It gradually seeps into her skin and from head to toe her body buzzes. 

Abruptly the door slams shut and the locks fly back into place. She's not surprised. Although considerably startled by the rejection that feels like being slapped in the face so hard it knocks you to the ground. 

She opens her eyes to reality and stares up into the cloudless sky overhead. She blinks slowly, sluggish after being under for less than a minute, and wipes tears from the corners of her eyes. _Imagine if I went longer._ She sweeps the possibility from her mind, shuddering at the implication. _Another day,_ she tells herself. Right now she tasks herself to protecting the guiltless lives floors below her. 

"So that's what it looks like." 

The voice startles her so badly she actually jumps an inch up into the air. She whirls around and gets a good look at the voices' owner. Despite standing on the ledge of the school—one ankle crossed over the other, hands casually stuffed in his designer pants—he's shorter than Ik-han, with boyish good looks and startlingly verdant eyes. 

"I've always been curious about what someone looks like as they go under," he says, and his voice is telling of a boy who's lived the privileged life—charming with a hint of upper-crust arrogance. 

"Now you know," Suyi says, and internally claps herself on the back for keeping the tremor out of her voice. He really scared her. She never sensed him approach—if he wasn't already there to begin with—and the thought he could've ended her life so effortlessly makes her blood run cold. _Damn these peaceful years._

"Mm," he says, and he pulls his left hand from his pocket. Suyi has a moment to notice a black scorpion tattoo on it before he runs it through his dark brown locks. He jumps from the ledge, barely making noise, and walks closer. "You're quite lovely when you go under." He stops around ten steps away from her and runs his hand through his hair again. Suyi's not sure if it's a nervous habit or he's trying to get her to notice him.

"Well," she says, and a tiny smile finds its way to her face. She loves compliments and will apparently take them from enemies without pause. "Thank you." 

He laughs, and it's utterly wholesome. It makes his cheeks dimple and brings a delicate flush to his chubby cheeks. "I'm a big fan of your modeling career and always thought: 'that creature would look even lovelier if she freed herself from the orders life gives us and simply let go.'"

"Not all of us can live the high life without a care given," she says and doesn't mean to sound bitter, but it leaks in regardless. Yes, she's a famous model who's recognized all over South Korea. And yes, that life privies her to quite a large wallet. But it isn't who she is. Not exactly. She's always adored the finer things in life since she was young, but she's also painfully aware her life exists for another purpose. One wholly different than the pipe dream she uses as a cover. 

"But now that I've seen it," he says, tilting his head in thought. Either he didn't pick up on her tone or he simply doesn't care. Either way, he continues, "I believe the whole image is undeniably off." 

She raises her eyebrows in question, and he does the hand to hair thing again. "Don't mistake my earlier judgment—you did look ravishing. But I believe you would look closer to goddess status if you never moved. Never opened your eyes again. Remained in that permanent state of stagnant bliss." 

Something in the air crackles between them and Suyi's almost positive it has to do with his voice. As he talked his voice dropped lower in tone, and so did the air between them. Not in temperature—more in the feeling of the air becoming thicker, heavier. 

"So basically—you want me dead." Suyi surreptitiously unfurls her fingers, so they're pointing straight down by her sides. She keeps her guard up, and her eyes trained on him. 

"Heaven's no," he says and then backpedals. "Well—maybe later. But the illicit thought of having you—Im Suyi—in permanent paralysis is rather exciting." He grins and Suyi receives a view of pointed teeth. She'd expect straight rows of overwhelming brightness. Instead, he reminds her of a wolf baring his canines. 

"I don't know about that," she says, smiling tentatively. Their conversation was turning into dark territory, and she suddenly remembers how he snuck up on her, the scorpion tattoo on his wrist, and his voice causing a disturbance in the air. All of it, including his desire to have her alive but frozen in time, reminds her he's not as natural as he looks. "I like walking and talking."

He laughs, throwing his head back. His necks thinner than any normal humans and she notes it wouldn't take much effort to snap it. He finally stops and withdraws his other hand—this one is tattooless with only old scabs around the knuckles—and looks up at her from under his lashes. He appears like one of those scary ghosts in horror movies who fixes you with their soulless gaze, and then after a moment of contemplation, they pounce. 

Suyi swallows the lump in her throat. She's not prepared. She only released a fraction of her powers to build a barrier around the perimeter of the school and some extra in case she needed to defend herself. But it isn't anywhere near the amount enough to take on an opponent this unsettling and dangerous. 

She bites her tongue in frustration. "Before we begin," she says. Stalling is her only tactic until she can formulate a plan. "May I ask your name? I at least want to know the name of the person I fight." 

He inclines his head slightly to the right, and the movement sends a cold chill up Suyi's spine. He's the far cry from the innocent doe-eyed boy on the ledge. "Amon," he whispers. 

Suyi nods. _A daemon's name. Fuck me to tears._ "Lovely," she says instead. _No wonder he exudes confidence._ She narrows her eyes a fraction in thought. _But is he really a demon? Or is it just a name?_ Considering how he changed the air with his voice, she's beginning to believe in the former. She inhales sharply to mask the trepidation she feels prickling her skin. _I wouldn't feel so goddamn nervous if I had more time._

Time—she suddenly realizes is something she needs lots of if she wants to save the students. If she doesn't place the barrier up before Amon attacks, or that girl and Shinwoo start fighting, their lives will forever be scarred. 

She decides on her plan then and there—the innocent lives as a motivator. It'll be reckless and probably cause Ik-han a panic attack if he finds out, but the ends will justify the means. 

She sweeps one leg behind the other, one hand at her back the other pressed flat to her chest, and bows with enough flourish it can almost count as theatrical. She keeps the position and looks up at him, and smirks. "How very lovely," she says and disappears. 

From her position in front of Amon she delights in his surprised expression. He looks like the boy on the ledge again, young and human. She shakes away any remaining thoughts and sets herself to work. She has a limited time in her transparent state and needs to use the time wisely. Being invisible takes away some of her "extra power", but it was her only option. 

She shuts her eyes and envisions the school; it's inhabitants and the territory outside it—a mile in each direction. She stretches her arms out by her sides mirroring the cross, says a prayer even, and smacks her hands together in front of her face. 

"Bitch!" 

She has a split second to move before his fist connects with her face, and she uses the second it takes for him to right himself to draw her weapon created from her energy to rest it against the back of his neck. 

He stills. Suyi glances away only for a brief moment to watch a wall, from ground to sky, of pinkish wavy energy finish spreading out where she directed it, and once satisfied she looks sidelong at him. "Testy, aren't you?" 

He growls. It's a gravely sound that makes her heart race, and she can't see much of his face, but she's sure his teeth are bared in irritation.

"Very clever, Miss Suyi." He says, but this time, Suyi doesn't take it as a compliment. She feels more lucky than clever. "I was so wrapped up in the idea of turning you into a doll... I underestimated your will to remain as you said, 'walking and talking.'"

"Did you honestly think I'd stand there and let you take me?" 

"No," he says, and the air around them starts popping like bubbles and ghostly lines of blue energy appear around her blade. Suyi's hand holding the curved handle of her black blade trembles. "I didn't honestly think that of you." Her other hand makes a claw and slams down against her thigh. She's suddenly thankful she cut her nails yesterday or else there would be bloody trails down her leg. "But now that I have you where I want you," he continues and turns his head so far around Suyi knows right then and there he's not human. 

Daemon. Daemon. Daemon! 

"Fuck," Suyi mutters, locking her jaw. His face remains boyishly handsome, but his eyes have lost their pupils, and his teeth have grown large and turned blood red. Her hand on the blade shakes more violently and her other rips into her thigh. "Bastard... you can manipulate people's minds." She didn't mean it as a question, but the inflection of her voice made it sound like she was asking. She swallows and cringes as her saliva stings the inside of her suddenly parched throat. It feels like sandpaper and taste like defeat.

He laughs, and he looks every bit like his namesake. "I can only do it when someone touches me." At Suyi's puzzled look he adds, "through your blade." 

Suyi starts and wants nothing more than to kick herself in the ass. She should have walked on the cautious side, assessed his powers more closely, so she wouldn't be in this pitiful state. _No! It's all fucking Shinwoo's fault._

"Well," she says, "looks like we're both guilty of underestimating." 

"Yes," he hisses more than says. "But I believe you're more guilty than I." He calmly steps away from her blade, rubs the back of his neck where her energy undoubtedly still vibrates and pins her with a look of victory. "My beautiful little doll." 

Suyi inhales and then exhales softly. "Sorry," she says, closing her eyes. 

He laughs, high-pitched and grating to her nerves. He's slipping more and more into the real Amon hiding behind the charm and sweet countenance. "Don't be sorry. In all fairness, it has been an awful amount of years— **decades** —since you tapped into your power. I'm thoroughly impressed you created a large enough barrier with the limited time you had."

Suyi focuses, dimming Amon's voice inside her head. She does so until it's dead silent and she feels like she's floating in space. It's dark, cold, lonely, and frightening, but the silence wraps it's arms around her and soothes the fear gripping her heart. In that embrace she feels like she's in a bubble, time has stopped, and she can process without rushing. She thinks of Amon's ability to manipulate things he touches and his trick with the air and conceives a plan to escape his clutches. Everything after that will have to be played by ear; with caution dictating her every responding move. 

Suyi finally opens her eyes and meets Amon's smug face. Her lips move slowly up into a smile, and she says, "I'm no one's doll." 

~*~

The loud explosion above Ik-han's head makes his heart pump kool-aid. He wipes his sweaty palms on his pants and looks outside the window. The smoke from the blast billows and blocks his vision, but through the haze, he sees the back part of Shinwoo’s legs. 

"Damn it," he says, rubbing his hands on his pants more aggressively. "Yuna didn't make it in time. Damn it." 

"What the hell is going on, Ik-han?" Ik-han turns to Regis. The red eyes of the boys narrow and his perfect foreheads so pinched that if you tilted your head the right way he'd look comical. "Where have all the children gone? And is someone fighting above us?" 

Ik-han adverts his eyes from Regis to gaze back outside. The smoke has cleared, and he watches a girl point at Shinwoo. "All good questions, my friend." He never looks away from Shinwoo. "But I cannot answer any of them. Please wait patiently until Shinwoo has returned." 

Ik-han feels the frustrated groan from Regis vibrate through his back, and he sympathizes. _I wish I could tell you, friend._ Hands slap down on his shoulders, and he's gently turned around, so he has a face full of Regis's angry stare. 

"No," Regis says, "You answer me now." His eyes grow slightly bigger, and it's like a light bulb pops on. Ik-han can only assume he just realized who he's talking to and who he's manhandling.

 _I'm not a delicate flower. Don't treat me like I need protecting._

"Please," Regis pleads, his hands tightening on Ik-han's shoulders. "I know something isn't right—I can feel it as plain as I can feel this school shake. Please tell us." 

The 'us' reminds Ik-han of the other two in the room. He pulls away from Regis abruptly and levels Raizel with a fierce look. "Do not approach the window, Rai. Stay seated until Shinwoo takes care of the threat and comes back." 

Regis and Seira look taken back by Ik-han's commanding tone. But Ik-han doesn't have time to relish in their surprise that little nerdy unassuming Ik-han has balls enough to order Raizel. He knows **he's** there before the classroom door opens. He turns on his heels just as soon as the door slides open, slow and deliberate for a show. 

"Now now, Ik-han," the man's husky British voice says. "The truth is always best." He steps inside, all six foot five of him. He's built but hides it well under an expensive dark suit that Ik-han has to admit looks damn good on him. He saunters over without closing the door, his stride graceful, and Ik-han knows he's walked a few catwalks in his life. 

"Sebastian," Ik-han says, conversational. There's nothing to worry about—yet. "I thought you didn't like field work?" 

Sebastian howls a deep laugh that forces him to double over slightly and makes the few stray locks of golden blonde hair from his bun sway. His eyes, when he looks back up at Ik-han, are dark with mirth. 

"I don't mind field work," he says, adding an amiable smile to his handsome face. "It's fighting I abhor." 

Ik-han smiles back, only less than what Sebastian beams at him. Shinwoo taught him always to hold people at arms length, never play your cards first, and when you feel you can't win a fight—run from it. Ik-han always scoffed at the times Shinwoo told him that. _I'm not an idiot. I don't need you saving me,_ he'd tell him. But now, standing in front of the imposing Sebastian, Ik-han's glad of those lessons. Because if he's honest with himself, if it weren't for Shinwoo’s constant encouragement, Ik-han would be doing some pretty foolish things. 

Ik-han watches as Sebastian's icy blue eyes roam over him. It only takes Shinwoo’s lessons to force him not to break under the man's penetrating assessment. Sebastian then turns his gaze to Regis, Seira, and finally sticks on Raizel. His lip twitches and Ik-han can't discern if it was a genuine smile he was attempting or derision. The man has a neutral poker face. He doesn't say anything until he turns his eyes to the window and then sighs. "I told her if she began to lose her cool I'd ask Ru to intercede." 

"Who the hell are you?" Regis asks. Ik-han blinks his daze away— _damn his eyes are captivating_ —and spares Regis a sidelong look. 

Sebastian raises his eyebrows but never looks at any of them. "The man who will watch my people slaughter Shinwoo, Suyi, and Yuna." He finally tears his attention away from the window and bores his glacier eyes into Ik-han. "And then throw meek Ik-han off the roof of this building. But not before I force him to watch all of you guardians of the Noblesse die." 

Ik-han swallows. His bravado can only last so long. It's not that Sebastian's claims scare him—honestly, Ik-han knows better, and his faith in his friends is unyielding—but it's the images brought up by those words that give him pause. The death, the cries of anguish and pain, the blood. The rivers of blood that'll stain the land make Ik-han twitch. 

Blood scares him. 

"Shall I tell you, Regis K. Landgere, what I have planned for the man behind you?" 

Before Regis can fire back, Ik-han cuts him off. "You've done your homework on us. Regis's name isn't registered in any database. I'm impressed." 

Sebastian smiles, not as grand as the previous one, but still charming. "Of course," he says, "did you doubt?" 

"Of course not," Ik-han responds, and he takes a moment to look outside at Shinwoo. His friends' back is straight; strong shoulders relaxed with his hands casually hanging by his side. Ik-han never understood how Shinwoo could pull off confident and laziness in the same breath. Ik-han always believed if you were sure of yourself then you should show it off. Be proud of your abilities because not everyone is born with them. But Shinwoo always gave Ik-han a haunted look whenever he pestered him about that kind of stuff. 

"He's distracting, isn't he?" 

"Yes," Ik-han says slowly, his eyes lowering. "Very much." 

"But a cruel wolf in sheep's clothing." 

Ik-han searches the man's face for the joke but knows Sebastian is only speaking truth. The hard, cold, bloody facts about his friend. Only—Ik-han hates facts. He rather swim in oblivion than suffer the grim reality his friend is a monster. 

_I'm not a delicate flower. I don't need protecting._

He repeats the sentence twice and feels the words soothe his racing heart after the second. Time slows to the beat of his heart—ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum... ba dum... ba dum. He loosens his tie, unbuttons four buttons, reaches a hand inside and traces a symbol above the thumping organ. Nothing happens. Ik-han didn't really expect for it to take effect right away. Although he's positive Shinwoo's looking up at the window, brows furrowed and his lower lip bitten to prevent the desperate cries from escaping. 

_I'm not a delicate flower. I don't need protecting._

Time finally shifts back into its right pace, and Sebastian looks down at his chest. The man's hardy face transforms into a look more suited for a dead man. His poker face ripped away, he looks pale and hollowed out. He visibly shakes in his smart suit and alarm turns his glacier eyes even brighter. 

He pulls his trembling lips apart to speak but Ik-han beats him to it, and Ik-han's voice comes out even. "And your girl is about to be bit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update. I've actually had this written for about a week and a half, but other things got in the way of me uploading it. And. I like to set my writing aside for a short time and come back to it with a fresh pair of eyes. Anyways, hope you enjoyed. Tell me what you think and please point out any grammar errors.


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